5 Rap Careers That Are Already Dead

The music business is cruel, and many careers don't survive that initial brush with fame.

Brand Nubian's "Don't Let it Go To Your Head" perhaps best summarized the chewed-up-and-spit-out nature of the rap game just as the biz went into overdrive. Now, commercial hip-hop only includes a small handful of successful artists. But at one point, it seemed like the pop charts were dominated by rappers from all regions and affiliations. Many of them were discovered, many were developed by talented A&Rs. Some came up with superproducers, and acted as a vehicle for new sounds that battered dance clubs. There are many more forgotten artists than this list could even hope to cover. 

Today, many of those careers might as well not exist. In some cases, it's the artists' fault. But for the most part, it's due to much larger forces than any individual could hope to overcome. Of course, it's cheaper than ever to have a "career" in 2013. Going by the present standard of releasing YouTube videos to maintain a career, a few of these acts are still recording artists. But for all intents and purposes, when compared with their commercial peaks, their careers are done for.

This might seem disrespectful, but it's not intended to be. A lot of it is about the nature of the business. Many talented people never even make it in the first place. If anything, we want this post, in true Memorial Day fashion, to celebrate the life that was these artists' careers, rather than to mock them for the flatline at the end. Everyone dies one day. RIP to the many careers that once flourished and have since fallen.

RELATED: 25 Hip-Hop Artists People Think Are One-Hit Wonders (But Totally Aren't)

Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye's "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)" was the basis for three important singles in the early 2000s. First came 50's "Ghetto Qu'Ran," then there was Ja Rule and Ashanti's "Mesmerized," and of course there was Smilez and Southstar's Top 40 hit, "Tell Me."

How the song became a smash is something of a mystery. Their album, Crash the Party, didn't sell. No other song they released managed to even glance at the charts again, and the group disappeared. The duo's Wikipedia page implies that they are "working on their next album." Smilez occasionally pops up on Worldstar as a solo rapper.

Who didn't disappear was DJ Nasty & LVM, the producers behind the group's only LP. Aside from getting credits on Tha Carter II and Like Father, Like Son, the Florida producers also known as Nasty Beatmakerz have continued producing throughout the 2000s, even landing the opening track on, um, Lil Wayne's Rebirth.

Recent Release: "Maria"

For many rappers on this list, the inability to maintain a career was about forces beyond their control. In Shyne's case, though, we can point to a specific event that sidelined the rapper's career shortly after his debut album was released: The Nightclub Incident. After the whole ordeal with Puffy at the club, and the ensuing jail sentence, Shyne emerged, received a major record deal, and released...some very disappointing music thanks to his now sluggish voice. 

Then, he was deported. The rapper is signed to Cash Money, he endorsed Mitt Romney because Obama didn't stop his deportation, and he tours the world talking about interfaith understanding. We know a lot about him!

But to see what's become of his music career, just search his name on YouTube in the past year. What do you find? Interviews, gossip, beef, and very little music. It's an extremely sad end for an artist who did bless us with some great singles and a strong debut. At least people are still talking about him?

Recent Release: Shyne dissing Game in a freestyle on Vlad.TV

St. Louis rapper Chingy was one of the biggest success stories on this list, at least in commercial terms. He first built his career locally on the regional hit "What's Poppin' Off," as a member of the group Without Warning. Then, he opened on Nelly's national tour. He was the biggest artist to rise out of Ludacris' Disturbing Tha Peace label besides Luda himself. His debut album, Jackpot, went double-platinum. His follow-up, Powerballin', went platinum and 2006's Hoodstar went gold before he fell off the national radar. 

In creative terms, Chingy had some jams. His initial singles were massive successes: "Holidae Inn" hit No. 3 on the Hot 100, while "Right Thurr" and "One Call Away" both hit No. 2. He was also featured on Houston's hit "I Like That." But commercial success has since shifted away from the rapper, who released a single in 2012 called "Let It Go." He hasn't, but the bulk of his audience has.

Recent Release: "Let It Go"

The Clipse got a mid-career resurgence when a cult fanbase of the duo's mid-00s mixtapes, We Got It For Cheap, formed and managed to lobby the group into releasing another major-label record. The Neptunes' produced Hell Hath No Fury wasn't a commercial smash, but it definitely received critical plaudits and became one of the decade's most celebrated comeback efforts.

Unfortunately for Philly's Most Wanted, the talented duo behind 2001's Get Down or Lay Down, the same enthusiasm wasn't forthcoming. Their partnership with The Neptunes' was limited to only one album.

However, that album remains as an excellent snapshot of the era. "Cross the Border" was a great single, one of The Neptunes' more unique production jobs. Boo-Bonic and Mr. Man weren't slouches on the microphone, either.

After the group parted ways with Chad and Pharrell, they released one more LP on Universal, Ring The Alarm, which failed to make much of an impact. The group promptly disbanded, making PMW's career dead by every definition. Lately, Boo-Bonic has taken up rapping alongside Rich Hil, which is kind of sad because he's the superior rapper.

Recent Release: "Lock Her Down," shot by Rich Hil

If you weren't hitting the clubs or parties when J-Kwon's "Tipsy" was a smash, you might not realize exactly how massive this track really was. This was a spring break anthem and a massive crossover record. It went double-platinum and reached No. 2 on the Hot 100. Built on the back of one of TrackBoyz' beats that likely registered on the Richter scale, its whooshing claps and acid-squelching bass were a woozy replica of being, as the kids say today, off the shits.

J-Kwon might get clowned as a one-hit-wonder (he wasn't), but in fact his album Hood Hop was a pretty consistent release. It was easily as good as some more critically-acclaimed records at the time, thanks in large part to the Trackboyz's distinctive sound and the vision of executive producer Jermaine Dupri. The title track, for example, was a banger.

Sadly, the So So Def stable is full of artists whose careers seem unable to sustain once trends move on. While J-Kwon was a competent rapper, his 2009 follow-up, Hood Hop 2, did not set the world on fire. His third album, Hood Hop 2.5, featured "Tipsy '09," which was very unintentionally depressing. His last release was 2010's self-titled LP.

Recent Release: "O"